LG Electronics today announced the launch of the KF700, a new multimedia phone that combines three input methods. As the world's first phone with three separate input methods, the KF700 integrates a 3-inch touch screen, alpha-numeric keypad and Shortcut Dial. With its user-optimized navigation, all of the phone's functions and features are instantly accessible.

Photo: LG KF700 Touch Screen Phone Competes with iPhone Photo 1

The KF700's 3-inch full touch screen provides access to features and its wide aspect ratio makes it ideal for watching movies or browsing the internet. From the main screen users can flip through several handy widgets, including a calendar, scheduler, and memo pad, with the swipe of a finger. The large touch screen also means that the phone can provide an adaptable on-screen interface, rather than tying users to a fixed, preset button layout.

The Shortcut Dial on the back of the phone scrolls through six user-selected features by controlling a virtual dial on screen, rather than digging through menus. The Shortcut Dial can also be used to scroll through web pages or emails, adjust volume and perform other functions for which a wheel is naturally better.

"Our consumers told us that they wanted a phone that had plenty of multimedia features, but doesn't take a long time fiddling with menus to figure out. We created the LG KF700 based their insight," said Dr. Skott Ahn, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "Internal research showed that a phone's multimedia features often lay dormant if they are hard to access. On many phones these features are hidden deep in menus, requiring too much time and effort to find them. The LG KF700 eliminates these endless menus with its intuitive interface and multiple input methods."

Most of the new touch screen phones currently available eliminate some formerly universal features like the alpha-numeric keypad. LG incorporated a slide-down alpha-numeric keypad to simplify the process of making calls and typing text messages.

When browsing the internet on the wide touch screen, the shortcut dial zooms in and out on websites. When sending text messages, the alpha-numeric keypad provides the letters, while frequently used symbols are readily available on the touch screen. These symbols change based on users text messaging habits.

One of the KF700's multimedia features is a web browser that provides access to Google Search, Blogs, Gmail, Maps and Youtube. Support for HSDPA 3G networks makes web browsing fast and other features like video telephony possible. Other features include an MP3 player, MPEG4 video player, 3.0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity and more.

The LG KF700 will be available in Europe in mid March and will become available in other markets in the months following.